The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-06-16
seRpsruAL-Mor,oN oaAxks.

y
Men Who Spend Their Lives aud
Money In Hopeless Effort.
do you have many perpetual-motion
franks nowadays?" asked Star report
sr OF prominent patent attorney at
Willard 5 hotel last night mot many"
was the reply. II have had only ono
Or two in my experience, One of them
was a very singular case. 1t happened
quite while ago. One day, while I
vas stt ng at one OF my spare desks ex-
aiming II patent case. the door opened
and in walked three men in Indian file.
They were queer-looking fellows. The
irst was tall. gaunt, gray bearded
and gray-haired man. dressed in old
fashioned black clothes, covered by
long linen duster. The second was
short, fat, chunky fellow. country
man, apparently. and neighbor Of the
Did fellow. The third man evil
IDENTIFY belonged in the city. Pro badly
be picked The other up. or happened to
know what they were after, and so
brou ght them to me. Well. when they
got inside the door the old fellow stalk
ID over in military fashion in my direc-
lion. When he got directly opposite me
he turned right about aud. walking up
10 my desk, drew long and large roll
Of paper from under his arm. He hand
cd it to Inc, saying: Well, sir, what
do you think of that?" took the roll,
opened 1t, and after looking over its
contents Yor few minutes, during
which the old fellow stood rs silent as
che grave, l said; III appears to mo to
be perpetual otion device. That's
Just what it Is. sir. That's just VIII at 1t
Is. i knew you would see 1t in min
ute, said the old man with a grin.
The old man then looked around to
where my draughtsman was sitting, an
interested spectator of the scene. He
motioned silently with one hand to my
private office, acting as if he wanted
10 speak of things he did not wish
overheard. Well. into my Office the
three walked. When they got inside
the short man closed the door and then
stood against it so that the draughts-
man could not get in. The old gentle
man then asked me what i could do
for him. | Inquired of him in reply il
he had model of his invention. file
drew out of one his pockets three
combs with convalutes on them.
took them in my hand for moment,
and then / told the old gentleman
frankly | could not get him patent
for perpetual motion. The thing. as
You know, is chestnut, and unless we
could make some practical demonstra-
ton of the invention in the patent
Office the examiners there would throw
it out and laugh at me for my pains.
But the old gentleman persisted that
he wanted it patented, even though |
told him time and again that it was ut
terly useless; that there never had been
and never could be such device in
vented. However, | saw that the me-
chan cal principle involved in pa TT of
the Thing was radical and totally new,
aud | thought that 1 might get him
patent for that told him so. He
woul la hear of ii AT first, but finally,
after his companions had pursuaded
him That it would be best to let me pro-
tecl him in that respect, and that he
couhl hereafter obtain patent on the
rest. the old fellow consented.
ale then asked me what was my
fee. told him that IS was all | ask
ed to make a preliminary examination
to SEQ whether the thing had not a.
ready been patented. But he wasn't
satisfied with this. lie wanted me TO
apply for the patent anyhow. and Sol
told him that would require $50 SO
for the patent Office fee and S3j for nv
self start the thing. He never said
A word. bur, putting his hand into an
inside pocket, he pulled ont an old
leather pouch stuffed full of money.
He took $50 bill out and banded it
to me. 1t was then Saturday. and the
old man told me that he was going
back 10 Arkansas. and that as he had
about eighty miles of staging to DO aft
or he left the railroad he couldn't pos
sibly get to his home before the fol-